The Guru Report: Villanova Ready to Battle Miami To Extend Siegrist Career and Advance to the Elite Eight

Updating at Bottom With Thur WNIT Resuls

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Villanova has calmed down after Monday night’s advancement to the Sweet 16 and the Wildcats are back to business here in the South in the Bon Secours Wellness Arena preparing for Friday afternoon’s 2:30 p.m. opening semifinals game on ESPN against an opponent that has become the new Cinderella of the NCAA women’s tournament in 9^th-seed Miami (21-12).

 

In a move by the NCAA tournament committee, there are two overall sites, not four, at the Sweet 16 level and the pod in which the Wildcats (30-6), ranked 10^th in the final Associated Press Poll, are participating is Greenville 2 with the region semifinals second game Friday at 5 p.m. being third-seeded and ninth-ranked LSU (30-2) meeting second-seeded and seventh-ranked Utah (27-4).

 

On Saturday, in offering two Philadelphia-bred coaches down here, Dawn Staley’s overall No. 1 seed, top-ranked, unbeaten and reigning NCAA champion South Carolina Gamecocks (34-0), on a 40-game win streak, in the Greenville 1 semifinals, will meet 4^th seed and No. 14^th-ranked UCLA (27-9) at 2 p.m. before second-seeded and 7^th-ranked Maryland (27-6) meets third-seeded and 10^th-ranked Notre Dame (27-5) at 11:30 a.m.

 

Miami earned its glass slippers with a 17-point comeback on Oklahoma State in the opening round, and then on Monday night shocked region 1-seed Indiana at the finish, knocking out the regular season Big Ten champions who finished second in the final AP poll.

 

Though Villanova could feel like a team of destiny led by consensus senior all-American Maggie Siegrist, the nation’s leading scorer with a 29.2 average who has compiled a warehouse full of records likely to have a nice shelf life, the Hurricanes have a player named Destiny as in Destiny Harden, a transfer from West Virginia two seasons ago who hit the game-winner sealing the Hoosiers’ fate.

 

The Hurricanes are in the Sweet 16 for the first time in 31 years, meaning alums from that squad have gone on to successful careers and raised families.

 

For the second half of the season, Miami has had to deal with the opposition within the Atlantic Coast Conference with the likes of Notre Dame, Louisville, which has undergone a revival in the last month; and Virginia Tech, the ACC tournament champions and No. 1 seed in the Seattle 3 Region who face four seed Tennessee (25-11) Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

 

Now, the Hurricanes, who also feature the senior twin sister guard combo of Haley and Hanna Cavinder, transfers from Fresno this season, must face Villanova’s development led by Siegrist, Lucy Olsen, and forward Christina Dolce, as some of the primary parts of the Wildcats’ offensive and defensive forces.

 

Miami’s longtime coach Katie Meier, a former AP national coach of year awardee, paid Siegrist a compliment when asked at Thursday’s press previews for the Greenville 1 participants who the Wildcats’ star recalled.

 

“I had the fortune of coaching Stewie, (former UConn and current WNBA great) Breanna Stewart for two summers in USA Basketball.

 

“We won two gold medals together. She’s extremely talented. There’s a lot of similarities there. A lot,” Meier said.

 

“I think the biggest similarity is you can defend her perfectly, you can be physical, you can deny the ball, whatever, but in the end, she’s going to calmly catch a ball and be able to race up and shoot over you, and there’s a not a heck of a lot you can do about that,” she continued.

 

“She’s an amazing player, and some of her games this year have been astounding. I mean, you just can’t believe what you’re watching,” Meier observed.

 

“Fortunately, we are a team that has several – more than several, many – a lot of defensive schemes, and we’ve played them against top teams all year.”

 

As for what Villanova might expect, coach Denise Dillon said, “What we know is they’re going to pressure us. Their intensity on the defensive end creates a lot of offense for them, so just being prepared for that.

 

“And just scoring threats in different areas. They’re shooting the ball well, so it’s not just about them taking it off the dribble or getting the post entry. They’re shooting the ball really well. So just focusing on defensive concepts.”

 

Dillon said in giving the scouting report to the Wildcats rather than compare Miami to teams in the Big East, it’s more about referencing individual players like DePaul’s Annesah Morrow or UConn’s Nika Muhl.

 

With media here not seeing Siegrist consistently, Dillon was asked how the native of Poughkeepsie has handled all the attention.

 

“With absolute humility,” Dillon said. “Every time she steps on the floor, she’s just excited to play. There’s nothing greater as a coach than to witness that, to just see the pure joy in the game and how she is playing it. You want nothing more than to continue to see her out on the floor.”

 

Looking to the future if Siegrist decides to reject the five-year opportunity and move to the WNBA, where she is a projected high draft pick when next month’s selections will be made, Dillon, turned to Olsen to be following as the next Villanova sensation to get national attention.

 

“I think Lucy Olsen is starting to shine in that limelight,” Dillon said. “And her performance is backing it up. I said Lucy just gives everything she has to the game, to her teammates. And I think when you see the scoring, the rebounding, the assists, she just gets after it.”

 

Asked when she thought Villanova had ramped things up, Dillon said the way the squad returned for this season after losing to Michigan on the Wolverines’ court in the second-round last march.

 

Added Siegrist, “This group is really special. Everyone had a goal, and the goal was to be playing basketball in March and playing our best basketball in March. And you know, I think we can confidently say that we’re doing that right now.”

 

She noted when teams try to throw suffocating defenses to slow her down, Villanova has options.

 

“We have five threats on the floor,” she said. “Everybody does their job and does it really well.”

 

Siegrist noted when two or three opposing players are sent to defend her, someone else on ‘Nova hits a three. Dolce has done such a good job on the offensive boards; someone has to defend her.

 

Olsen said that the non-conference styles the Wildcats faced, and the Big East battles this year have prepared ‘Nova for whatever the Hurricanes might offer from the opposing side.”

 

The Greenville I Regional press previews will be held Friday ahead of the Greenville 2 doubleheader.

 

Quotables From the Opposite Side of the Greenville I Doubleheader Preview

 

Utah coach Lynne Roberts on LSU: “They’re explosive. They’re athletic. They’ve got some tremendous athletes. We definitely have a game plan, but we’re going to have to be able to make adjustments as well as the game goes on, and as both teams start to feel each other out.”

 

As for way back on PAC-12 media day last fall in San Francisco, the conference opposition is tough enough, did she the rise of the Utes to get this far? “Yeah, I did see it coming. I did. 

 

“I think we were picked fifth in our league,” Roberts said. “(Stanford coach) Tara (VanDerveer) gave us the other first-place vote because she can’t vote for herself. So maybe she saw it coming, too.”

 

LSU Hall of Fame coach Kim Mulkey on the rise of the Tigers since arriving from Baylor two years ago: “It never gets old for me, personally. If it does, I need to retire.

 

“The transfer portal has made things happen quicker, but the transfer portal also hurts teams. We were able to get new a lot of new pieces quickly. The hard part when you get those new pieces is they all call come from different programs, and you have to change a mindset, and that takes time, as well.”

 

Looking Ahead: The other Friday games will be out of the Seattle 4 Regional.

 

The semifinals opener will feature sixth seed and 21^st ranked Colorado (25-8) facing second-seed and third-ranked Iowa (28-6), which has scoring sensation Caitlin Clark at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN, followed by eighth-seeded Ole Miss (25-8), which knocked off top-seeded and fifth-ranked Stanford, playing 5^th-seeded Louisville (25-11) at 10 p.m. on ESPN.

 

WNIT Round-Up: Harvard Leads Five Into Great Eight Round Which Fills Friday

 

The Ivy League representatives continue to show themselves in the WNIT with Harvard hosting and beating Atlantic 10 power Rhode Island, 74-63, dominating down the stretch at Lavietes Pavilion Thursday night in Cambridge, Mass., one of five winners to determine the surviving winners into the next round.

Columbia (25-5), which tied for the regular season crown with NCAA qualifier Princeton and the other Ivy school, will have a chance to give the Ancient Eight two of their top four teams in the next round when the Lions host Syracuse (20-12) of the Atlantic Coast Conference at home in Levien Gym on New York City's Upper West Side on Broadway Friday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN3, one of three games to complete the current action.

Harvard (20-11) is having a terrific month to remember, beginning in the opening and semifinals round of the Ivy tourney upsetting Columbia, costing the Lions a first-ever NCAA bid.

The next night, the Crimson nearly beat host Princeton a second time this season, losing 54-48.

With a dream of gaining an NCAA bid extinguished, Harvard began WNIT play beating regular-season Colonial Athletic Conference co-champion Towson 103-63 at home and now have eliminated the two regular Atlantic 10 powers going on the road to beat UMass 89-87 in Amherst on Harmoni Turner's heroics in the final minute and then handling Rhode Island (26-7) on Thursday night.

Down the stretch, Harvard under the five minute mark of regulation time in the final quarter forged in front 60-56 on a three-pointer from McKenzie Forbes and Elena Rodriguez' basket.

The Crimson, guided by first-year coach Carrie Moore, then fired another shot from deep from Katie Krupa to expand the lead to seven and sealed the win with several free throws in the closing seconds.

Lola Mullaney had 19 to top the home team, three more than the 16 from Rodriguez, who enjoyed a double-double evening with 10 rebounds.

Harmoni Turner had nine boards, while Forbes collected seven.

Rhode Island under former Virginia star Tammi Reiss got 20 points from Sophie Phillips off the bench, while Maye Toure scored 15, and Anaelle Dutat grabbed 11 rebounds.

In the next round Harvard will see the winner of the Friday Columbia/Syracuse game.

Elsewhere, Bowling Green (30-6) topped visiting Memphis 73-60, the Tigers' season ending at 22-11.

The Falcons got 18 points and seven rebounds from Allison Day at home in the Stroh Center while Elissa Brett scored 15 points, Jocelyn Tate scored 14, and Lexi Fleming scored 10.

Jamirah Shutes scored 13 for Memphis, while Madison Griggs and Hannah Riddick each scored 12, and Destiny Thomas grabbed 11 rebounds.

Florida beat Clemson on the road 73-63 as the Gators (19-14) got 19 points from KK Deans, who also had six boards, four steals and nailed four shots from deep.

Leilani Correa and Alberte Rimdal each collected 11 points for Florida while Faith Dut and Nina Rikards each had 10 points.

Clemson (19-16) at home in Littlejohn Coliseum was forced into 14 turnovers.

Brie Perpignan scored 17 for Clemson, while Amari Robinson scored 13, and Eno Yang scored 10, and Daisha Bradford grabbed six steals and dealt eight assistants.

In the next Great Eight round Florida will stay on the road traveling to Bowling Green in Ohio Monday night at 6 p.m.

Out in the Northwest, Oregon at home in Matthew Knight Arena beat San Diego 81-61 as Ahlise Hurst  scored 23 points off the bench, her total helping the total 36 points from the reserves.

Te-Hina Paopao collected 15 points and grabbed 10 assists, while also adding six rebounds.

Chance Gray and Endyia Rogers each got 10 points for the Ducks (20-14).

San Diego (19-14) saw a double-double from Kasey Neubert with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Ayanna Khalfani got 12 points and Kiery Oakry had 10 point.

"We get to play another day, and that's fun," said Oregon coach  Kelly Graves. "I mean, obviously, this isn't the tournament that we were shooting for but we're in it. This is the bid we made and we're making the most of it.

"That's all you can do, you know? Whatever you hav earned, makes the most of it, and we are. So I'm really proud of them."

In the four-game Great Eight round next Oregon will face Friday's winner between Washington and Kansas State at  site and on a dated to be determined.

Thursday's final game featured Kansas beating visiting Nebraska 64-55 in Manhattan 64-55.

Isabelle Bourne had 17 points for the visiting Huskers (18-15) while Taiyanna Jackson scored 1t6 for the Jayhawks in Lawrence.

And that's the updated report.